November 5, 2016

Here’s an Abridged Edition of My Short Guide to California’s Initiatives

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We’re not just three days away from the presidential election, we’re also three days away from voting on California’s massive list of ballot initiatives.1 Here are my recommendations:

  1. $9 billion school bond. YES.
  2. Hospital fees. NO.
  3. Voter approval for revenue bonds over $2 billion. NO.
  4. Three-day wait before voting on bills. YES.
  5. Extension of income tax increase. NO.
  6. $2 cigarette tax. NO.
  7. Early parole for nonviolent offenders. YES.
  8. Repeal of Prop 227. YES.
  9. “Advisory question” to overturn Citizens United. NO.
  10. Condoms in porn films. NO.
  11. Prescription drug price regulation. NO.
  12. Repeal the death penalty. YES.
  13. Background checks for ammunition purchasers. NO.
  14. Marijuana legalization. YES.
  15. Plastic bag revenue. NO.
  16. Death penalty procedures. NO.
  17. Plastic bag ban. YES.

My longer write-up about each of these initiatives is here. It’s not a comprehensive description of every initiative, just enough to give you an idea of what each one is about and why I’m for or against it. It’s nice and short, and it’s written in plain English.

1If you live in California, that is.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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